I need your help!

[slugmom]

I want to be "on plan and planning to stay there!" but I am so *not* right now.

Every day I wake up and say "today I'm back on track!" ... and last until noon or maybe evening ... somewhere along the way I cave in to cravings and 'pamper' myself with junk I don't need. I say I'll get it out of the house but then someone (me, sometimes) brings the junk right back in.

Wanting snacks is the biggest hurdle. Craving chocolate or chips ...

I have been on plan and over the hump before, but now that I'm on the wrong side of the hump, again, it's so hard to get over those first few days of cravings!!

[Letha.]

How about making some McDougall treats and snacks? After a week or two of being back on plan you can try and cut back on the treats and ramp up the veggie intake. It’s a start. Here are a few ideas to get ya going.
Letha
Snacks & Deserts

Chocolate Decadence Pudding
Chocolate Delight
Baked Rice Pudding
Apple Crisp
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Frosting
Pumpkin Pie
Apple-Prune Crisp with Hazelnut Topping
Fresh Fruit Cobbler
Brownies
Cashew Ice Cream
Banana Ice Cream
Wicked Chocolate Pie
Lemon Tofu Cream
Creamy Dessert Puddings
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Grilled Stone Fruit with Spiced Blueberry Zinfandel Reduction and Orange Blossom Cashew Cream
Oatmeal Cookies
Easy Brownies
Greta’s Gingersnaps with a Twist
No-Bake Strawberry Pie with Chocolate Chunks
Cranberry Cookies
Pear-Cranberry Crumble
Glistening Poached Pears
Healthy Carrot Cake
Lemon Maple Glaze
Jellied Peach Jewels
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
No-Bake Pecan Date Crust
Chocolate Mousse with Raspberry Sauce

Bread

Roasted Garlic Bread
Power Loaf
Pumpkin Muffins
Banana Bread
Cornbread
Whole Wheat Biscuits
Blueberry Muffins
Fresh Corn Tortillas
Banana Coffee Cake

[vanita324]

maybe you could get rid of all the "bad" tempting foods in the house. that way, you will have to physically go to the store to get more of the food that you crave. the act of getting in your car with the baby, going to the grocery store, and physically paying for the tempting foods will probably be assuaged sometime during that long process;)

[MaryW]

slugmom, I am right there with you! My days start off great, but they go downhill as the day wears on. Evenings are especially hard. I have the habit of snacking. And that's all it is, a habit. And I usually go for the least healthy choices. Luckily, the unhealthy choices are just about gone. And I don't plan to replace them. Now, if I have a snack attack, I can dive into some baby carrots or baked potatoes. And healthy, whole, high fiber foods are VERY filling and satisfying. So I'm slowly working on getting my snacking under control and making exercise a routine. Baby steps!

[eaufraiche703]

Baby sluggette is just so adorable, Kim! WHAT a cutie!

I'm with you - and Mary W! All great intentions head south at about 12:30 (hmmmmmm. coincides with the end of 7th grade lunch duty.)
and that's IT for the day... (day starts at 4 AM with great intentions)

Perhaps this isn't just about snacking and chocolate and crunchy. Maybe there's a stress related component, but we've gotten used to relieving it with certain foods and feeling a bit better after indulging?

There's a great book out there called Shrink Yourselfabout ending emotional eating. Basically, the author guides reader through process of identifying factors that lead to the emotional eating - and then gives a process for retraining to make options that are aligned w/ health/dietary goals. Good book, and there's a website w/ info, too.

Wondering if you (and Mary W and I) could do something to relieve that stress (yoga stretches, meditation, karaoke, dance.... ) on a daily basis AND have better choice snack ideas at the ready...

Yesterday, during the play-on-computer-instead-of-doing-important-things
section of the day, i read info on the rice diet. THEY claim that cravings to overeat/eat bad, bad things disappear quickly when people go on their restricted sodium, sugar and fat diet. hmmm. wonder if anyone's found that? wonder how quickly those who've stuck to program have dropped the cravings...

[Faith in DC]

I know I get a lot less tempted for junk when I'm full of good food. So eat often and small of mcd foods. If you can gather all the forbidden foods into one spot and tell yourself that cabinet isn't yours, it may help.

But most importent, You need to get into your mind YOU are making health changes, you are not dieting. So if you eat something unhealthy, remind yourself what the heck it's doing to you, and start immediately back, not tomorrow. NOW. Getting the word diet out of my brain was my biggest help in keeping this journey I'm on to keep going. That is one reason I don't have a tracker. I found it gave me diet mentality. It's also why it took so long to join the group on weigh ins. But I feel ok now and can handle it. Just a suggestion.